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I think I may be like you, though my living situation is the other way around. I've lived at around 1500 feet, in a humid region, my whole life. I've always had some breathing issues, namely congestion and occasional shortness of breath, and I always ran out of breath when running. I went to higher elevations for a while last summer, around 7000-10000 feet, and stayed in that range for about a month. Not only did I never have any of the problems most people complain about, I didn't have any of my usual issues. I'd never known what it was like to not be short of breath and to run for as long as I wanted and not be limited by running out of breath. When I went back to what I'm "used" to, sure enough, the problems came back.

So I don't think you're alone. It may or may not be due to altitude or humidity levels, but all I know is, it was better out there.

Yeah, I'm not much of a runner (like I kind of already hinted at before), but it seems like it takes more for me to get winded working out. Or at least I don't feel it as much. Despite the fact that up until recently, I've been really inconsistent with it since the move due to finding a gym, changing gyms, having to fit it into a changed routine etc....

I'm trying to get on the slopes still for the first time this season, so we'll see when I'm at actual altitude how that pans out.